How To Make An Interactive Whiteboard

Posted By admin  On 25.03.21

One piece of technology that is becoming popular in classrooms are interactive whiteboards. Interactive whiteboards can motivate students to learn, are fun and highly engaging.

  • An interactive whiteboard is a tool that allows computer images to be displayed onto a board using a digital projector. These images can then be manipulated by the presenter by using their finger as a mouse, directly onto the wall.
  • A very good interactive whiteboard to use to record screencasts and voice-over tutorials. Some of the features it provides include: various brush colours and text fonts, import photos from camera roll or photo library, create videos from any document, manage students with Groups, upload and share your recordings with others.
  • So if you do want to save the ink from your whiteboard session, you will need to use a different method. Creating a Whiteboard Scenario in PowerPoint – Method #2. This method involves setting up blank slides at the end of your presentation to use as a whiteboard or blackboard. Step 1: Insert Blank Slides.

If you have an interactive whiteboard in your class you may be wondering how to better use it when teaching. Don't worry! Below are 10 ways to use your interactive whiteboard in the classroom!

10 way to use your Interactive Whiteboard:

Low-Cost Interactive Whiteboard: Walk into any primary or secondary school today and chances are that at least one teacher will be using an interactive whiteboard as part of their lesson. In fact, the number of interactive whiteboards used in educational contexts only seems to be i. So that’s how you can creatively use PowerPoint shortcuts (and a few clever workarounds) to create your own whiteboard or blackboard in the middle of a presentation to create a more interactive audience.

1) Signing in. When students come into class in the morning they can sign in through your interactive whiteboard. Students click on their name if they are in class today. These attendance boards are a fun morning routine for students. They also free up much needed wall space. Download the, Free Star Attendance Board, to get started.

2) Music in the classroom. Your interactive whiteboard is great for listening to music. Music is perfect to listen to during work time, as brain breaks, and for relaxing at quiet time. The two websites that are popular among teachers are Spotify and Pandora. These websites have hundreds of songs that are appropriate for young students. Now you can listen to music throughout the day.

3) YouTube. There are great videos on YouTube that are perfect for learning. These videos can be displayed on your interactive whiteboard. They are awesome for introducing concepts and reviewing tricky concepts. Check out the, 10 Best YouTube Channels for Kindergarten, to get started.

4) Noise Management. Your interactive whiteboard is great for visual displays. Two websites in particular are perfect for monitoring the noise in the classroom. Bouncy Balls is a website that connects to a microphone. If the students are too noisy the bouncy balls go crazy. The students have to keep the bouncy balls from moving. Too Noisy Lite also monitors classroom noise through your microphone. There is a meter on the screen that goes towards red when the class gets louder. The screen also changes with noise level to alert students.

5) PowerPoint Games. Interactive PowerPoint games can be played on interactive whiteboards. They are perfect to use as a class reward, when there are a few extra minutes, and during whole group instruction. PowerPoint games also help introduce concepts, and teach key skills. But, the best thing about PowerPoint games is that students absolutely love them. Try out PowerPoint games in your classroom and see how they work for you. You can download the, Free Night Owl Word Problems, to get started or check out other PowerPoint games.

6) Brain Breaks.Go Noodle is an awesome tool for the classroom. The website has brain break videos you can use in your classroom. Access Go Noodle through your interactive whiteboard to play these videos for your students. These videos provide students with much needed movement activities. Now you can get up and move everyday with Go Noodle.

7) Read Alouds. If you are a teacher you can use Epic for free in your classroom. Epic is an online website that gives you access to thousands of children's books. These books can be displayed on your interactive whiteboard, then you can use them as whole group read alouds. Some of the books are recorded readings and others you will have read to your students.

8) Anchor Charts. You can display your anchor charts through your interactive whiteboard. Take a picture of you anchor chart, then display them on your whiteboard. This is great if you have limited space to store or hang your anchor charts. You can also use the pen tool to write on the anchor charts and save the notes for future use. If you don't have anchor charts in your classroom don't worry. There are interactive anchor charts designed for interactive whiteboards. Check out the, Short Vowel Interactive Anchor Charts.

9) Hook it up to an iPad. There are great apps on the iPad that are perfect for the classroom. You can display these apps on your interactive whiteboard by connecting the iPad to a VGA adapter. It is also great if you have classroom management apps you can only access through your iPad. Watch the video on the post, 10 Terrific Ways to Use One iPad in the Classroom, to learn how to connect your iPad. Note: You will only be able to display the apps. You still have to use the iPad to work the apps.

10) Websites. Do your students have fun websites they access through your classroom computers? During whole group you can have them use these websites on the interactive whiteboard. They are perfect for a fun reward or to work on key math and reading skills.

Your Turn:
How do you use your interactive whiteboard in your classroom? Add your answers in the comments below. I would love to hear your tips and tricks.

Have you ever wanted to make your presentations more interactive by scribbling notes on your slides? With PowerPoint you can use a combination of shortcuts to quickly get whiteboard functionality without leaving your presentation or using any other software.

This is not the ultimate whiteboard scenario, but it’s a great trick to have in your toolkit when you need to sketch something on the fly during a presentation or workshop.

Creating a Whiteboard Scenario in PowerPoint: Method #1

Step 1: Start Pen Inking Mode

While in Slideshow Mode (this will not work in the normal view of your presentation), hit CTRL+P on your keyboard to enable pen inking. Hitting the shortcut, your cursor becomes a red dot and you can now draw on your slides.

This shortcut works in all versions of PowerPoint 2007 and later, and with the pen turned on you can write on your slides, underline items, check things off in a list and more.

You also can change the color of the pen in the lower left hand corner of your screen, as pictured below.

While this by itself can be a great way to make your slides interactive, we’re not at the whiteboard scenario quite yet.

If you want to learn all of the inking shortcuts, see the video below for a demonstration:

Step 2: Select a Whiteboard or Blackboard

With your pen active (this does not work after the fact), you have two keyboard shortcut options for your whiteboard session.

Make

#1: Hit “B” on your keyboard to turn your screen black, effectively giving you a blackboard.

#2: Hit “W” on your keyboard to turn your screen white, effectively giving you a whiteboard.

In this mode you can now write (or draw) on the blank canvas using your mouse, or if you are projecting with a tablet, you can draw with your finger or stylus (which is much easier).

For tablets, you are looking for the blackout slide option in the upper right-hand corner as pictured below in the iPad version of PowerPoint.

When you are done inking, just hit “B” or “W” to return to your presentation. From there, you can start your next session again by hitting the “B” or “W” shortcut again.

Just remember when blanking out your screen to first hit the pen shortcut (CTRL+P) if you want to write. Using the pen shortcut after blanking out your screen will automatically return you to your presentation.

Saving Your Ink

Using the freestyle whiteboard technique described above does not allow you to save your ink to your presentation. What you can do (this is a sneaky work-around of mine), is take a picture of the whiteboard session with your phone or camera before ending it.

So if you do want to save the ink from your whiteboard session, you will need to use a different method.

Creating a Whiteboard Scenario in PowerPoint – Method #2

This method involves setting up blank slides at the end of your presentation to use as a whiteboard or blackboard.

Step 1: Insert Blank Slides

Interactive

At the very end of your presentation, add as many blank slides (with a white or black background) as you like.

Note: You don’t have to add them at the very end, although I do find this easier to remember and navigate to than throwing them somewhere in the middle of your deck.

How To Make An Interactive Whiteboard

Step 2: Start Your Slideshow and Start Inking

With your presentation in process, just jump to the blank slides when you want your whiteboard session to start.

Two keyboard shortcuts for quickly jumping between slides in Slideshow Mode are:

#1: Type your slide number on your keyboard (assuming you know it) and then hit ENTER

#2: Hit CTRL+S on your keyboard to launch the Navigate Slide dialog box, where you can then find and jump to your slide

You can see both shortcuts in action and more in the video below.

Now on your blank slides, all you have to do is hit CTRL+P to enable the pen and start inking.

Saving Your Ink

How To Make A Cheap Interactive Whiteboard

Once you’re done with your inking, you can simply hit ESC to end your presentation. You will then be given an option to save your ink as ink annotations.

How To Make Zoom Whiteboard Interactive

Once you do that, your annotations will be saved to your slides as objects that you can then edit by opening up the Ink Tools Tab in your Ribbon. To open the Ink Tools tab, navigate to the Review Tab and select “Start Inking.”

Ink Currently Can’t Be Saved on the iPad

And it sucks…one of the easiest places to add ink to your slides and you can’t save it!

Although I’m sure they will fix this in a future update, the current version of PowerPoint on the iPad (version 1.9.3) does not allow you to save your inking sessions (which I assume is the same for the Android version of PowerPoint).

So yes, you can draw ink on your slides using your tablet, but you currently cannot save the ink (regardless of how you try to do it). You will have to go back to the sneaky method of taking a picture of your screen.

So that’s how you can creatively use PowerPoint shortcuts (and a few clever workarounds) to create your own whiteboard or blackboard in the middle of a presentation to create a more interactive audience experience. While probably not the best fit for a keynote address, it’s a handy trick to have in your tool kit if you’re working with a small group or demoing things from a desk.

How Do Interactive Whiteboards Work

Editor’s Note: To learn more PowerPoint shortcuts like these and tips for using them, visit Taylor’s blog.

How To Create Interactive Whiteboard Activities

About the Author:

Interactive Electronic Whiteboard

Taylor Croonquist is a co-founder of Nuts & Bolts Speed Training, which aims to make working professionals at least three times faster in PowerPoint. For more information on the company, visit the Nuts and Bolts website